The Amazon
by AeonXBorealis
Summary: The contestants have a challenge set up in the Amazon rain forest. Heather and Alejandro end up stuck together...either romance or further bitter rivalry will pop up.
1. Chapter 1

:Heather:

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?" Courtney screamed into the rushing wind.

Yeah, if I thought Chris was _completely _insane before, it's definitely official now. The door of this rickety pile of crap is open, wind is slapping at my face like a whip, roaring in my ears. I can't blame Courtney for the look of utter fear and indignation on her face.

Today's challenge: we're supposed to sky dive out over the Amazon rain forest, and Chris won't tell us anymore than that. I'm scared out of my mind-not that I'd actually _tell _anyone that-but that self-satisfied, condescending smirk on Chris's face is enough to make me want to win this challenge. So many times I've wanted to smack "our gracious host" upside the head.

"Okay, kiddies!" Chris says, rubbing his hands with glee. "Time to jump to your certain deaths! Did everybody sign the waivers?"

"Are you okay, Cody?" Sierra asks. As usual, she's cuddling the guy as if he's a giant stuffed animal. Cody's squirming in her arms, trying to escape, his eyes deer-in-headlight eyes.

Geez, I hope I never run into these people outside of the game. Sierra's batshit obsessed and crazy, Courtney's a Type A bitch, and Cody...I actually feel kinda sorry for him _because_ of Sierra.

"WAAAA-HOOOOO!" Just like I predicted, Izzy's the first to go. That's when I just snap: Alejandro follows right in her wake, jumping with professional skill and grace. He notices me staring and winks at me just as he pulls the release cord and his parachute pops out.

My insides are burning. It's on, Mr. Perfect!

"Come on, you losers!" I scream over my shoulder as I jump out. "The other team's getting ahead!"

I'm filled with dread as soon as I realize what I've just done. Air is rushing past me and it feels like my hair's being yanked back and upwards. It took me so long to grow it back to where it is right now. Feebly, I fumble around for my own release cord. I can't seem to find it; the thing keeps zipping up and down, right at the edge of my vision.

_If I can't grasp it, I'm going to fall to my death..._

Not the first time in my life, I'm scared out of my mind. Everything feels so unreal: I can hear screaming. Is that _me_? My life's actually flashing in front of my eyes...Oh, God...

_Lindsay, Beth, **Leshawana.**...You guys are my best friends in the entire world! If I die...If I die...oh, there's something I always wanted to tell-_

That's when I see fingers grasp the release cord. Tears are blurring my vision, but I swear I'm seeing something. A force pulls me and my parachute billows out behind me. The gentle tug, the lessening of force. I'm alive...I'M ALIVE!

I hug myself, look at my hands, flex my fingers, my legs. I can't believe it. Yeah, there's been times when I've been close to death on this show before, but never _that _close. I'm just so relieved that I'm actually still alive...Did I grab that release cord or was it an angel...?

That's when he appears in front of me, his brown hair flying around his face and a smug look on his face. _Alejandro. _That's when I come rocketing back to reality. I'm filled with rage. This guy has got quite a lot of nerve.

"I'm glad that you're alright," he says, smiling softly.

I just narrow my eyes at him. He may be able to charm and seduce all of the other girls for his own manipulative reasons, but I can see right through his facade. You're not gonna win, Alejandro. I'm too smart to fall for your stupid tricks.

"Oh, stow it!"

"No really," he says, trying to look like the good guy. "I truly am glad. I was the one that pulled the release cord, _señorita._"

I can't help myself as I gasp and my eyes widen. This guy..._just saved my life_? I'm speechless, absolutely nothing to say. Looking at his green eyes, my brain shuts down, but my stomach clenches and the hairs on my neck stand up.

"I'll being seeing you in the Amazon," he says, reaching out, taking my hand and kissing it.

Before I can pull my hand away from him, he lets go and pulls on the strings of his parachute, shooting away through the air in the opposite direction.

I just hope that he can't see me blushing.

:Alejandro:

I expertly land in the upper boughs of a tree. Just like I expected, I've successfully touched down in the Amazon rain forest. Good thing I took those skydiving and parachuting lessons when I was nine years old. Now I need to find my team and I'm guessing our objective is to locate the Amazon River.

It would make sense going off of the fact that Chris made quite a few obvious allusions to rivers today: his fancy breakfast-that he kept showboating to us contestants-was a literal river of gravy surrounded by biscuits, then he asked what the world's _second_ longest river was and so on and so forth. It's incredible that I'm surrounded by so many idiots in this game...Is nobody else an honor roll student and logical thinker like I am?

Oh well, I need to get to work. I just hope that I don't end up running into Owen first. His nickname for me, Al. It's so...annoying. Why can't he just say my actual name? It's not _that _hard to pronounce.

Okay, so most of my team was in a close proximity to me when we first exited the plane, so they shouldn't be too difficult to locate. Following logic, I remember that Izzy was a few degrees north from me when we were falling so I head northwest, carefully pushing back the rain forest's flora and fauna and remembering how she'd turned a little bit westward in her descent towards the forest's canopy.

According to some quick calculations in my head, a few feet from where I was, I should probably find Izzy hanging upside down from a tree or buried in some of the plants. As I come to the location I figure out I was correct, but all I find is the parachute, the "chute" part tangled in the uppermost branches of a tree.

I should have known. Izzy's not the type to sit around and wait. Knowing her sporadic and spontaneous personality, she probably ran after something or some other strange activity. She's such an unpredictable variable that I probably won't be able to locate her without help. Izzy had a cupcake in one of her pockets, so once I find Owen, he'll be able to track Izzy with his nose.

Quickly, I plot out the directions and locations of where the others would have landed and go about looking for them. Apparently, this challenge was so unpredictable, that it's even stumping me. At each location, I find an empty parachute. Even the location where I would have found Owen was empty. I even went as far as searching the adjacent and outlying areas around where each of my teammates landed, but...I've found absolutely _nothing_.

I end up heading back to my original location. Maybe one of my other teammates found my parachute. I doubt any of them thought of heading towards the Amazon River though, so that counts out possibly heading there and finding them on the way...Wait a minute. Maybe I shouldn't cross out that possibility. The best way to win these challenges is to map out every possible solution in my head and map out plans to go about winning them...

That's when I hear loud rustling. Turning around, I'm prepared for anything, even to _luchar_, even though the most likely scenario is that the figure coming out of the plant life is most likely a teammate.

Then she comes out, rubbing at her head and looking like a frightened child. It's Heather. Out of everyone in this game, I have to admit that she's probably my biggest threat towards winning, but not by much. Unlike me, her technique is amateur at best. If she was a bit more deceitful, as in having charisma and being able to act instead of outright showing her spite and evil plans, she might just be on my level.

Her performance in pretending to be Sierra's "friend" is pitiful at best. I guess she doesn't realize that Sierra can see right through it and is pretending to fall for her tricks.

"_You_," she growls, gritting her teeth and snarling at me.

Of course, me saving her life hasn't changed any of her hostility towards me. Smart girl. I just give her my angelic smile and wave. "Hello Heather. Pleasure meeting up with you here."

As expected, she shoves me out of her way while saying, "Get out of my way!"

Out of all of the girls on this show, I personally get the biggest thrill out of rattling Heather's cage. Her facial expressions are hilarious. I don't dare laugh, though. Because I know that beneath her tough, witchy exterior, she has a soft side. And I know that I can bring that out and make her fall for me.

I growl playfully at her. "I like girls with an attitude," I say, making her stop. "Out here in the rain forest, you look extremely beautiful. None of the plants here, even the most vibrant flowers, can compare with you."

Flowery lines like that are quite easy for me to come up with for me. I've seen it make girls' hearts flutter and make their cheeks burn with a blush, but I know it probably won't work on Heather. It's all part of my grand master plan, really. I'm always three or four steps ahead of everyone, even Heather, no matter how superior she believes that she is.

She's turning around, gives me an irritated glare. Then she starts walking off, her fists clenched at her sides. When she's far enough away, I start following her like a stealthy ninja. This much is apparent to me: she can't find her teammates either. I suspect that she won't be able to fend for herself in the Amazon rain forest, so that's when I step up and make my next move.

I have a feeling our teams are somewhere around here and if my suspicions are correct, I'll run into them soon enough. My objective for now is to pursue Heather.

Now it's just a matter of being diligent, patient, and clever.

:Heather:

I can't believe it. I can't find _any _of my stupid team, plus I'm _lost _in the Amazon rain forest.

I'm supposed to be on top of everything. I should be bossing my team around right now, making Sierra and Cody look for firewood, make Mrs. "I-was-a-CIT" look for edible food, and I'd be making beds, I guess. Actually, I'd get one of the others to do _that_, too.

Right now, I'm so angry, but I'm also really frustrated and scared. I don't wanna be alone...I can't be alone...I hate this feeling of helplessness...

The only other person I've run into is Alejandro. He keeps popping up _everywhere_. I know exactly what he's up to and he's not gonna get away with it!

I can't tell if it's day or night, but my feet are killing me, I'm hungry. As much as I hate it, I'm gonna need to stop and set up a camp by _myself_. Today's been so crappy.

Luckily, I find a clearing in the rain forest and a great big, leafy plant is nearby. I tug one of the leaves off, slap it onto the ground. Looking around, I start scrabbling, looking for stuff to use to make a fire. I have a pile of twigs, leaves, and other crap. I seriously wish Duncan or Izzy were here...Duncan has a lighter and Izzy's so crazy she'd be able to find a way to make fire out of thin air if she wanted to.

This sucks. Don't you have to have two pieces of flint or something to make a fire from scratch?

Feebly, I just start rubbing two dinky little sticks together. I keep rubbing and rubbing. _Nothing_. Getting angry, I start rubbing them together harder and harder, then I have to leap back as a tendril of smoke pops up, some sparks, and then a small fire.

It's so _tiny_, but looking at it, I realize that _I'm _the one who made it. Not Mrs. CIT, not Sierra, not anybody else. Me. I don't need my stupid team. I don't need _anybody_.

But there's no way I'm gonna try hunting some little animal or eating something from the Amazon...That's when I remember that I stole a candy bar from Owen's secret stash the other day.

Eagerly, I fish it out of my pocket...

**ROAAAAAAARRRRR!**

I'm staring into the yellow eyes of a great big, orange and speckled cat. It opens it's mouth and there's rows and rows of sharp teeth. This thing's looking at me like I'm it's dinner.

"It's not funny, Izzy. I know it's-"

The big cat roars at me and it's saliva sprays all over me. When it's done roaring, it licks its lips hungrily. The cat takes a step forward, flicking its tail. Yeah, it thinks it's so menacing, so ferocious. After that stupid bear in the first season, I'm sick of animals looking at me like I'm a prime rib, like I'm their prey. I fought a stupid _crocodile _in the first season.

Angrily, I take off my sandal and chuck it right at the cat. It hits it right between the eyes. Twice the cat blinks and then it flares its nostrils, growls at me. Then it leaps up and pounces. My eyes widen and, then it lands right on me, knocks all of the air outta my lungs. This thing's as heavy as Owen and it's got Owen's hungry look in its eyes.

Now I'm scared. I can't move at all and I'm about to be this cat's dinner.

Before I close my eyes against the inevitable, the cat's pulled away from me and I can breathe again. I sit up and...

Alejandro's go the cat knocked on it's back, wrestling with it. For several minutes there's a struggle and then he brings out some kind of rope and uses it to tie up the cat's paws. Then he uses the rope to tug the cat towards the forest. Roughly, he releases the cat from it's rope bonds and all he has to do is _glare _to send the cat running off, mewing like a frightened kitten.

"Looks like I've saved your life twice now, _preciosa_," he says, smirking and smacking the rope against his palm. "I believe I deserve a reward..."


	2. Chapter 2

:Alejandro:

I could feel Heather's icy glare as I worked to make her little fire bigger. Apparently, I'd majorly underestimated Heather since I'd been suspecting that I would have had to intervene in her affairs sooner. Then again, I _did_ have to fight off a jaguar that had been close to eating her. This was probably one of the toughest challenges yet and I'd already had to face off against crocodiles _and _man-eating scarabs.

Honestly, I was expecting Chris to emerge from the foliage at any given moment and demand that we start singing a song. My eyes narrowed and I looked over at Heather. Perhaps she was the type that was a sucker for a man serenading her. So far, I'd saved her life _twice _now and apparently that wasn't enough to get Heather to start falling for my charms. This was tougher than I thought it was going to be...This girl was truly surprising me.

"You're silent," I say, as the fire roars, big and bright. "Are you thinking about my reward, _señorita_?"

Heather looks resentful. Carefully, I sidle close enough to her, but not close enough that her glare should get any more fierce. It's quite a strange thing to think about: Her glare is already at absolute zero, so could it go beyond man's determined limit for how cold a temperature could be?

Yes, it can. Heather just proved all of those chemists and physicists wrong with her next glare directed at me and then she turns away. I have a feeling that I should probably cease flirting with her right now. Any more moves right now would truly hinder my chances to achieve my goals.

I turn my attention to the next obvious obstacle: protection from the rain fall. There have been scattered rain falls all day, but I've been fortunate enough to have enough cover that the rain didn't get me too wet. I pull a few leaves off of a nearby plant and note that Heather has pulled one off for a sleeping mat. Clever.

Without asking, I walk over and start to position a few leaves above Heather's head, creating her shelter from the rain fall. This ought to earn me a few brownie points. Some girls really seem to love seeing manners and chivalry in a man.

"What are you doing?" Heather barks. Apparently, Heather's not one of those girls.

"Making a shelter from the rain," I reply. "For you."

That quiets her for some reason. I just shrug and walk away, working at pulling more leaves for my own protection from the possible rain fall.

"Hey!" I turn around, and find Heather looking at me. "Thanks..."

"No problem, _preciosa_," I reply, turning back around. That's going to be my new nick name for her, "_preciosa", _beautiful. I wonder if she'll eventually figure out what it means and what her reaction will be.

All I know is that I'm beginning to make progress, considering how rare the word 'thanks' is for Heather. I smile to myself as I continue working with creating my set-up.

It will not be long now before _preciosa _falls in love with me.

:Heather:

I'm watching Alejandro make something to stop the rain from leaves.

I hate to admit this, but it's a pretty smart move on his part. I never even considered doing that, but I should have since I've been pelted by rain almost _all day. _

My clothes are kinda soaked. And even though the fire's bigger and warmer, I'm still not completely dry yet.

It seems really bizarre that Alejandro is being so _nice. _But I won't let him confuse me. I'm still totally aware of what he's up to. He can try all the tricks in the book, but I'm _not _gonna fall for it.

As a matter of fact, I've come up with my own plan. Since Alejandro is so determined to make me fall for him, I'll pretend that I am. It'll totally mess up Mr. Perfect's game, catch him off-guard. It's about time that I got back in control of this game, because this time _I'm _gonna win. And nobody can stop me, especially not Alejandro.

Alejandro's relaxing against a tree trunk once he's done, arms folded behind his head, eyes closed. He looks kinda peaceful, sitting there like that. As I continue to watch him, I can...almost... see why the girls are falling all over themselves for this guy.

He's buff with a physique like Justin's, but...somehow _sexier. _His hair looks so silky smooth and shampooed and that little goatee on his face looks like it just belongs there. Alejandro is obviously _hot; _I'll give him that much. But it's not just his looks. He's...perfect, too. Way too perfect. Intelligent, physically fit, polite, a gentleman, the full package.

But it's exactly that perfection that made me suspicious of him from the start. And ever since then, he's just been continually confirming that he's just using his perfect image to manipulate the others and get further in the game.

Sitting here, mere feet away from the guy, the realization truly hits me: _He's _the most ferocious competitor in this game. My biggest competition. Nobody else is as smooth or deceptive as Alejandro seems to be.

Under different circumstances, I might have fallen for him, but under the ones that I am in, it's just not gonna happen for real.

"It's getting late," he says, opening one eye. "I'd suggest that you get some sleep. I'll take the first watch in case anything tries to attack our camp."

There he goes again, being the knight in shining armor. It's making my anger flare up, but I swallow my pride. If I want to get out of his attempts to manipulate me, I have to play it smart, do things his way for awhile. If he thinks he's in control, it'll make things easier for me to gain control.

"Okay..." I say, pretending to yawn.

I lay down on my leaf and close my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

:Alejandro:

I know exactly what Heather's thinking. By now, she has probably devised a plan to counteract mine. I can just tell by how willing she was to let me take the first watch over our little camp when earlier, she was resisting me. Unknown to that _chica_, she can _pretend_ to be falling in love with me all that she wants to, but she'll end up falling in love with me. No _mujer _can resist the looks, charm, and intelligence of Alejandro.

I sit under my rain shelter through the night, keeping a watchful eye. It rains a few times, and I'm a little bit soaked, but other than that, the night is quite uneventful. A few times, I look over at Heather and see her shivering slightly. Perhaps the fire is not enough.

Eventually, I get up and remove my shirt, walking over to where she is and draping it over her. As she settles under my shirt, I can tell that she's fallen asleep. She smiles in her sleep. If only she would smile more often. That _sonrisa _could light up an entire city, with such a beautiful face. Maybe I can get _preciosa _to smile again and I can use that line...

I catch myself smiling. What am I thinking? I guess I have always had a soft spot for _las mujeres con pelo negro_. Black hair. Raven colored hair-

I have to get a grip on myself. I turn away and return to my post, but her face keeps filling my mind. There's something that I find quite enchanting about her, the way she scowls at me, the way she keeps resisting my advances. It seems like every other girl I have ever come across, they fall for me so easily.

It's an undeniable fact: I could have any girl that I wanted. I've never really been turned down or rejected until I came onto this game. Though out of all of the girls here, I never really gave it any attention that the only one that really, truly caught my attention was Heather. In a sense I could say that she is playing hard-to-get and I'm really enjoying how she plays the game.

My own _sonrisa _escapes me. I hate that I could actually be falling for Heather instead of it just being a ruse. This _needs _to remain a ruse.

For the first time in my life, I'm so distracted that night passes right by. I end up falling asleep, but I don't realize that I have until I wake up and see sunlight filtering through the bright green canopy overhead. At least I'm more focused and less air headed when I'm awake and fortune was on my side as well: No wild animals visited the camp while I was asleep and Heather's still asleep...

Now that I'm back in the game, I'm formulating plans. For my next move, I scan the clearing and then wander into the surrounding forest. Time to go find some food.

:Heather:

I _fell _asleep.

My head hurts. Badly. I've got a killer headache and I'm lying on a leaf with bright, searing sunlight practically _blinding _me! What a way to wake up...

I roll over on my side, clutching at my head. It feels like there's a million little knives inside my skull, poking and punching at my brain. On top of that, I'm hungry. I didn't eat anything last night...

When I reach towards my shorts pocket, I only feel a gloppy, gooey mess. My fingers are covered in chocolate. I lick my fingers and dig the rest of the candy bar out of my pocket.

There's barely any of it left, but it's better than nothing.

I feel like crap. _C-R-A-P_. And my shorts pocket is so messy now.

It's just my luck that Mr. Perfect shows up, toting a rainbow of different fruits in his arms. He kneels down and puts several different pieces of fruit near my head. Then he takes my hand and pulls me to my feet, even though I didn't give him _permission _to.

"I picked this for you, _preciosa_," he says, continuing his I'm-an-angel charade.

He holds up a bright pink flower near my face and then he fastens it in my hair, smiling the entire time. Alejandro's lucky that I have such a bad headache and that I'm extremely tired, or I'd take this thing out of my hair and totally flatten it with the heel of my sandal.

"I found a bunch of fruit out in the forest," he says, extending an arm at the selection of fruit. "Mostly guavas and mangoes. I hope that's suitable for you..."

It's just my luck that my stomach growls. The melted chocolate bar wasn't enough. I grab the fruit and start stuffing my face. It's so juicy and plump, the juices running down my chin.

Oh, God. I feel like such a pig. Like Owen. Sitting here and chowing down like this.

It tasted so good. Once I'm done, I'm just sitting there, staring at Alejandro, who's smiling at me and calmly biting into one of the pieces of fruit.

He looks so smug and full of himself. That's when I look down and see his shirt draped across me, with chocolate stains all over it. I look back up and notice that he's..._shirtless_.

I don't mean to do it, but I'm looking at his chest, at that six-pack. He definitely works out. There's no denying it. Why can't I look away?

Next thing I know, I feel my chin being titled up. It's Alejandro. He's so close now, his face only inches away and juices from the fruit he'd been eating surrounding his mouth. On any other guy it would look gross, yet on Alejandro, it looks..._sexy_...

My brain's actually beginning to work now. I'm finally waking up and I remember the plans I'd made last night. But I can't help feeling like it'd be a bad idea to let Alejandro kiss me. At least it feels like and _looks like _he wants to kiss me. _Is _he going to kiss me?

"_Quiero un beso_," he whispers and I can't understand what he's saying. "_Tú eres mucha hermosa...entonces hermosa..._"

With every word, he keeps getting closer and closer. He's closing his eyes and puckering his lips. I want to back away, but it feels like I'm locked in place. All I know is that, I _don't _want to kiss Alejandro. His lips are so close to mine and I can feel my cheeks burning.

That's when something pulls Alejandro away. I'm alarmed and confused. The cat from before is back and it looks _pissed_. It's got Alejandro pinned to the ground and looks like it's...laughing. Alejandro tries to escape the cat's hold, but the more he struggles, the stronger the cat's grip seems to get.

This is exactly the same cat that Alejandro beat up yesterday, back for revenge.

I haven't found my team and I'm betting that the other two teams are close to whatever goal Chris has set up by now...I'm gonna get voted off if I don't stop beating around the bush with Mr. Perfect. I should just leave him behind. He can handle the cat. I've left others behind before. It's survival of the fittest. The way this game is played.

Looking back up, I see that the cat's licking its lips and Alejandro actually looks...scared. He actually looks _human _instead of trying to be some sort of saint sent from heaven. And then he looks at me, those green eyes sear me. Then that ridiculous pink flower falls into my lap...

...and it clicks. Everything clicks. Something in me snaps and I'm consumed with rage unlike anything I've ever felt before.

I run full speed towards the cat and leap onto its back, wrapping my arms around its neck. With all of my strength, I wrestle the beast and smack it to the ground. Every time it tries to escape my hold, I punch it. It feels _so good _to punch this cat, over and over and over again. I'm punching it so hard I bet it's seeing _**stars**_.

I'm getting tired, so I release the cat and walk away. It looks so roughed up, covered from head to tail in bruises and there _is _a circle of stars revolving around its head. I can't help the surge of pride and victory that wells up in me.

Ferociously, I stomp forward and lean down so I'm at eye level with the cat...Then I let out a huge and vicious growl, bearing my fingers and turning them into claws.

That's when the cat runs away again, crying and yowling like a little kitten.

Putting my hands on my hips, I turn around and see Alejandro still laying there. He's looking up at me with big, wide eyes. Before I know what I'm doing, I extend my hand to Alejandro. Within mere _seconds, _he turns back into Mr. Perfect just by smiling and taking my hand. I pull him to his feet.

"Thank you...Heather," he says and I can sense that he was tempted to call me "_preciosa_" again, but thought better of it. Smart boy.

I don't reply. It's strictly back to business now, whether we saved each other's lives or not.

What just happened right now...it _never _happened. Alejandro better see it that way or I might just have to turn my claws onto _him_.


	3. Chapter 3

:Team Amazon:

Courtney clenched her fists and cried out in frustration. Everyone else in Team Amazon was looking at her. As usual, Sierra was harassing Cody and Cody was trying to squirm out of her grasp. Gwen looked irritated, her arms folded across her chest.

Overhead, a helicopter with Chris on board was flying away. The sound of humming filled the air until the helicopter was completely gone.

"I'm so sick of trekking around in this rain forest!" Courtney complained, pulling at her rain soaked clothes. "Where the heck is _Heather_? We're gonna lose this challenge because of her!"

"Calm down, Courtney!" Gwen said, rolling her eyes. "We'll find Heather somewhere. I'm pretty sure that since we have no clue where the Amazon River is, then the other teams probably don't either..."

"Shut up!" Courtney screeched, stomping over to Gwen. "Nobody. Tells. Me. To. Calm. Down. _Especially _the girl that's trying to steal _my _boyfriend!"

Gwen unfolded her arms and clenched her own fists. "He's not your boyfriend anymore! He _broke up _with you! He's too hot for _you _anyway!" Gwen looked away and her cheeks flared with a blush. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Ladies!" Cody cried, trying to escape Sierra's bear hug. "Stop fighting! We won't find Heather _or _the Amazon River if you two start fighting!"

Desperately, Cody kept trying to crawl away from Sierra, but her hug got tighter and tighter the more he struggled. Looking stern, Sierra frowned at him. "I don't want you getting involved in that, Cody," she said. "You might get hurt..."

_Yeah, like **you **haven't hurt me already _he thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Everyday he woke up now, he dreaded it. Being the only boy on an all-girl team was driving him crazy. There was only one positive: At least Heather wasn't here. He'd be having an even better day if Sierra weren't around either.

Feeling the grip of her boa constrictor arms, he sighed heavily. A boy could dream.

Gwen's and Courtney's spat was escalating quickly. Both girls were growling viciously at each other like dogs and even Gwen was yelling now. Moments later, the girls were at each other's throats in an all-out cat fight. At this rate, Heather or no Heather, Team Amazon was definitely going to lose.

And there was nothing Cody could do about it because he was trapped in the stranglehold of his numero-uno uber-obsessed fan.

:Team Chris Is Really, Really, Really, Really, Really (Too Many "Reallys") Hot:

"Al...AL!" Owen kept screaming his name into the foliage over and over again.

Izzy had her nose pressed to the ground and was sniffing. Noah sat on the ground, leaning against a tree and Tyler was using a tree branch as a substitute pull-up bar. Though every time he pulled himself up, he kept hitting his head on the tree branch. But he didn't seem to picking that up since he continued doing it and he kept repeatedly muttering "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"I bet one of the other teams are gonna win this one," Noah said, ever the "optimist". "They have all of their team members and they're probably closer to finding the Amazon River than we are..."

"Ow!" Tyler replied and Noah sighed, knowing that no one had heard his comment.

Briefly, Izzy looked up from sniffing. "I smell...a six pack, brown hair, and sexiness!"

"AL!" Owen cried jovially, getting a strange look from Noah.

"I don't know if the scent is Alejandro," Izzy said, scratching at her scalp while her nostrils continued to twitch. "No...I think I'm smelling a capybara..."

"Capybara?" Owen raised an eyebrow.

"Capybaras are large rodents that roll around in mud and look like guinea pigs," Noah supplied, glaring at Tyler, who was still caught in his loop of being utterly stupid.

Sighing, Noah walked over to Tyler and pulled him out of the tree by the end of his sweat pants. Falling on his rear, Tyler sat there, the pupils of his eyes rolling around like pin balls while a circle of stars swooped around his head.

"I think I had a capybara once," Owen said, tapping his chin.

"It's not a kind of food, Owen," Noah said. "It's a kind of rat..."

"I _loove _capybaras!" Izzy crooned, still sniffing the air. "Did you know that I can _speak _capybara?"

"No way!" said Owen, buying everything that came of her crazy mouth as usual.

Suddenly, Izzy shot off in another direction like a rocket, chattering animatedly to Owen as he chased after her. Sighing, Noah watched them and supposed that he had to go on their misguided adventure to find capybaras...

Team Chris is 5x Really Hot had already sat through several bouts of rain, ate something that Izzy had hunted, and gotten totally lost in the Amazon rain forest. Of course they weren't going to try to find Alejandro or the Amazon River or even _try _to win the challenge.

"Oh yeah, we're definitely losing now," Noah sighed, jogging to catch up with Owen and Izzy.

"Where are we going?" Tyler asked, finally back in the loop instead of being an idiot.

"Oh, we're chasing after giant guinea pigs," Noah said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Yaay!"

"That's cool!" Tyler smiled.

Of course, he just had to be as thrilled about capybaras as Owen and Izzy...

:Team Victory:

DJ sat on the ground, rocking back and forth nervously and sucking his thumb. Next to him was LeShawna, who looked concerned and was trying to console him. Lindsay was leaning against a tree, fast asleep.

"There's lots more animals in the rain forest," DJ cried fretfully. "What if I hurt one? I can't bear to hurt another poor, defenseless animal! It's all because of that _stupid _curse!"

"It'll be okay, DJ," LeShawna said, unsure of what to say to make him feel better.

"No it _won't_!" DJ said, bursting into tears.

Sighing, LeShawna sat down and put her elbows on her knees. She watched DJ sitting there, crying his eyes out. The poor guy. She felt sorry for him and irritated at the same time.

Shivering a little, she looked down at her clothes. Ever since she'd landed, she'd been drenched in rain. They'd already run into a jaguar, but it'd been lucky that DJ had scared it off by accidentally kicking it in the maw and knocking all of it's teeth out. Since then, they'd been in this spot and DJ had been weeping his eyes out ever since.

Even when Chris had showed up and told them their destination was the Amazon River, DJ downright refused to move another inch.

LeShawna looked over at Lindsay, who was sleeping soundly, even snoring a little. Yeah, Team Victory had been forged to _win_, but LeShawna had a feeling they were probably going to _lose _this challenge. And there was nothing she could do about it. That's what made the situation that much more depressing.

Despairingly, she began to try and wring rain water out of her shirt and of things to say to possibly cheer up DJ.

"I like you too, Noah..." Lindsay muttered in her sleep.

:Alejandro:

Heather..._saved my life_...

She had her back turned to me and was walking away.

"See you at the finish line, Alejandro," she says, not even looking over shoulder at me.

Something in me compels me to run up to her and stop her progress. I look into her brown eyes and I can't deny anything. My heart is pounding in my chest and I cannot think of anything other than _her_. I can't help the feelings rolling through me like tidal waves.

This isn't a ruse anymore. _Mi corazón _is crying out to me. I _want _her. I _need _her.

"Heather...wait..." I'm not sure what to say here. I'm scrambling so desperately for words. Nobody, _nobody _has ever made me feel this unsure of myself. So nervous. As far as I know, I have the most beautiful girl in _todos el mundo, _all the world,standing right in front of me.

"Why don't we stick together until each of us finds our teams...?"

I know it's a long shot. Heather is more than capable of fending for herself in this rain forest and she has just as much of a chance as I do of finding her team. From the way she turns and looks at me, smirks in such a condescending way. I can see it in her eyes: She doesn't feel the same way about me as I am feeling about her.

"I know what you're up to, _preciosa_," she says, holding up her hand in a claw-like gesture. "I'm not gonna fall for it...Capiche?"

She reveals outright that she knew exactly what I was planning. My feelings are driving me crazy. All I want to do is run towards her, kiss those lips, kiss them so passionately and hold her so close to me. The feelings are so out of control that they make me want to tilt my head back and bay at the moon like a wolf, if only to just _attempt _to contain them.

I don't say anything as Heather turns back around and just...walks away.

I stand there and watch her, watch her until she's gone.

What's wrong with me? I pull at my hair and fall to the ground. So much of me is so confused and frustrated. It should be Heather that's feeling all of this, not me. My heart continues to pound and all I can think about is Heather, holding her, kissing her, _loving her..._

The way she looked at me before she just walked away...She feels nothing for me. Yet, I can't help wondering why she had saved me from that jaguar when logic tells me that she should have, that _she would have_ run away and left me. I was honestly in fear for _my life. _Never before have I ever felt so unsure, like everything was going to end.

I end up looking at my hands in the way that people do when they have a lot on their mind. It doesn't make any sense at all to me, but I think I'm falling in love. The feelings are so strong, _so intense _that I can't ignore them or find any other logical explanation. I can't keep sitting here, looking around like a complete idiot. I'm not a complete idiot; I'm a _genius, _a _prodigy_.

I'm more than good enough for Heather and she'll either return my feelings or be left regretful for the rest of her life. Now, I need to pursue this all the way and get rid of these feelings. Either I'll end up with something or I'll have nothing and I can move on, get focused again, and continue in my ultimate goal to eliminate all competition and win this game.

Knowing what I have to do, I stand up and start going in the direction that Heather went.

:Team Chris Is Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Hot:

Noah stood there with his arms folded across his chest. The team was standing in a clearing where a couple of leaves had been laid out and a couple of makeshift rain shelters had been made out of leaves and hung over the leaves on the ground. Logically, Noah concluded that another team had probably been here.

"Where are the giant guinea pigs?" Tyler asked, looking around. He even knelt down, picked up a leaf and started looking underneath it.

"There's no capybaras here," Owen piped up, looking around. "Do we have any food? I'm hungry!"

"Oh!" Izzy lifted a finger and sniffed the air. "I wasn't smelling an _animal. _It was Alejandro that I smelled!"

Izzy's nose twitched a few more times and she smiled, falling down to all fours. "I know where Alejandro is!" she called out excitedly, pressing her nose to the ground.

Immediately, Izzy took off like a rocket, Owen following her and panting heavily. "Don't go too fast! I can't run!"

"Wait up!" Tyler called, racing after them.

While Izzy had been sniffing the air, Noah had been inspecting the makeshift rain shelters. He was nodding, appreciating the design. Noticing the rest of his team was gone, Noah caught sight of Tyler and then ran after them to catch up.

As he ran, Noah had to admit that Alejandro was quite _something. _Everything that guy seemed to do was perfect. Was there anything Alejandro _couldn't _do?

:Team Amazon:

Finally, Gwen and Courtney had stopped fighting because Sierra had told them that she'd found a 'magic stick'. In other words, a diving rod. Now Gwen and Courtney were in a cold and distant silence while Courtney held the divining rod, watching it intently for vibrations. Any vibrations at all.

Cody was hating the silence, but he hated even more that he was being carried over Sierra's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It was degrading _and _humiliating at the same time. Ever since he'd first met Sierra, his life had been completely miserable.

Glumly, he watched as they passed vibrant green plants and colorful flowers. A few times he saw a few colorful birds perched up in the trees. It was picturesque and scenic. Cody made a mental note to try to convince Gwen to come on a date with him here since the rain forest was such a beautiful and romantic spot.

Then he remembered that Gwen was into Duncan now and stalled any further thoughts on the possibility. He frowned and looked down at the dirt. It felt like Gwen would never be interested in him;

there was always somebody else more interesting or exotic.

"Hey guys!"

Finally Sierra put Cody down. They were all staring as Heather walked casually out of the surrounding forest, smiling and her usual, mean self.

Personally, Cody had thought that she'd been killed by something hiding out in the Amazon rain forest. That'd probably been too much to hope for...

"It's _about time _you showed up!_" _Courtney hissed, looking grumpy as ever.

"Geez, have a cow why don't you?" Heather spat, rolling her eyes. "Let's go!"

Great, the mean girl party was at full blast now that Heather was back. Cody sighed and started walking, but then he was hefted and thrown over Sierra's shoulder yet again.

A guy on an all-girl team...Cody just couldn't get a break.

:Team Victory:

LeShawna had finally convinced DJ to leave the spot and woke Lindsay up. Now she was leading them in what she hoped was the direction of the Amazon River.

As they walked, DJ kept a wary eye out for any animals.

"Hey...LaKweesha?" Lindsay looked at LaShawna and smiled.

LaShawna hated it when Lindsay mispronounced her name, but she ignored it since Lindsay got pretty much _everyone's _name wrong. "What's up, girl?"

"Sleeping in this icky rain forest is ruining my complexion!" Lindsay cried, holding out her arms for LaShawna to see.

Her arms were covered in red splotches; all of them were big, red, and angry. Crying out, LaShawna took Lindsay's hands and shook her head. "We gotta get you out of this rain forest, girl!" she tsked. "You got poison oak."

"Poison oak?" Lindsay looked confused.

"It's the nasty red marks on your arm," LaShawana replied, biting her lip and pointing at the splotches.

"Oh..." Lindsay looked calm for a moment, then she reeled her head back and started screaming at the sky, scratching viciously at her infected arms.


	4. Chapter 4

:Heather:

Courtney seems grumpier than usual today...if that's even possible...

Gwen looks gloomier than normal, too. But she's pretty much gloomy all the time. I don't know what happened between these two, but it's really quiet.

I like it. Really nice change of pace.

According to the obsessed Cody fan, we're on our way to the Amazon River. We have an advantage over all of the other teams, too: a freaking _divining_ rod. Feels good to know that I'm gonna be a big winner tonight.

After such a past couple of crappy days mucking around in this rain forest, I'm _more _than ready to leave.

"I hear something!" Sierra cries, her wild eyes getting wide.

"Yeah...it's water!" Gwen says. "We found it!"

There's a loud trickling noise. A few more steps forward and after pushing some big plants outta the way...We've found it! We're the first to reach the Amazon River!

But...this river's so. Freaking. Huge. It's so wide, the other side looks like it's a million miles away, with lots and lots of silvery blue water. My knees are buckling, thinking about how deep the water is. Of course, I might be scared, but I'm sure as hell not telling any of the others.

"What do we do _now_?" I demand to know, looking around and stepping up to take my rightful position as the leader of Team Amazon.

That's when Chris appears out of nowhere, wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses and being carried by a bunch of interns on a lawn chair. I love how this guy thinks he's such a fashion icon. It's cute that he thinks so, but he's _so _not.

"Hey Chris! I know oversize sunglasses are a big trend right now, but...it just looks gross on you." I can't help saying it, because it's _true_.

The others are glaring at me, especially Sierra. Wow, I thought that chick was an eternally happy-go-lucky, sugar-hyped type. They can't really blame me though; they were all probably thinking the exact same thing.

"Okay, thanks for the 'insightful' fashion tip, _Heather_," Chris says snidely. "You're going to be going _upstream_ in the Amazon, riding dolphins to a finish line that you'll know when you see it." Chris looks shifty eyed here. "You all must cross the finish line _and_ still be on the dolphin's back in order to win."

Now we're all looking around. The surface of the water looks calm and undisturbed. There's absolutely _no _dolphins here. I'm about to complain to Chris when I hear a small splash. And...there's the dolphin and it's...pink?

I only stop to think about the weird coloring for a nanosecond, then I jump at the Amazon, and end up just hitting the water. Immediately, I come back up, drenched more than by the rain of the rain forest, spitting a bunch of water out of my mouth. The dolphin's laughing at me. Oh, you won't be laughing for very long wise guy. If I can fight a giant rain forest cat, you're not much more of a challenge.

While it's still laughing, I quickly swim over and climb onto its back.

"Come on, Heather!" Courtney shouts at me, looking exasperated. All of the others have already mounted their dolphins, Cody and Sierra sharing one.

I _am not _getting voted off today. I take ahold of the slippery dolphin. "Come on!" I yell at it, furious. "COME ON!"

Next thing I know, I'm underwater, back above the water, under the water again. The dolphin is spinning and its gurgling laughter fills my ears. Stupid dolphin. Now I'm getting really dizzy. Angry, I grip tighter on the dolphin and find a way to make it stay above water.

Finally, the sucker's done messing with me. When will the animals of this stupid rain forest realize that it's not smart to mess with me?

The dolphin takes off and Courtney actually has the audacity to glare at me once I catch up. In reply, I stick my tongue out at her. _Take that!_

:Alejandro:

I try to catch up to Heather, but apparently, I let her gain too much ground and she's gotten away. I'm looking through the trees and all I see is her walking away with her team.

Sighing heavily, I know it would be a _muy malo _idea to continue to go after her now. I don't have any more ideas of where to go from here. Amazingly, my brilliant brain is..._empty_. This realization makes my insides twist and contort. I'm _always _ahead of everybody else. Nobody else can make plans or think as logically as I can.

I cannot continue letting my thoughts stray to Heather, because that will be my ultimate undoing. Steeling myself, I take a deep breath and force my mind to be cleared of any and all traces of Heather. When I truly think about it, it was foolish to let my emotions run away with me, as unreleased and uncontrolled as _los torros _in the Running of the Bulls. Though I cannot let my failure rule me, for if I do, that makes me a weak man.

Every man has a woman that can drive him _loco _or make him fall in _amor_. Heather happens to be the beautiful woman that does that to me, but I will not allow my emotions to overrun my logical mind _again_.

"AL! HEY ALLL!" calls Owen.

I turn around and smile. Then I'm tackled to the ground by Izzy, whose nose is sniffing the air like a metal detector. It catches me off-guard for a moment. My other teammates appear, Noah smirking and folding his arms across his chest, and Tyler.

Thankfully, Izzy gets off of me, but then I'm pulled off of the ground and into an awkward bear hug by Owen. "We were worried about you, buddy!" he says, laughing.

It feels like all of the air is being crushed out of my lungs, but I manage a weak laugh. "I'm glad to see all of you, too," I choke out. "Could you put me down, _por favor_?"

"Chris told us that we're s'posed to go the Amazon River," Tyler piped up, trying to be helpful.

"Then let's go!" I call out, taking off at a jaunty pace. "_Vamanos!_"

Quickly, I figure out where we are and what direction the Amazon River probably is. Once again, my logical brain is kicking in and I'm leading my team towards our directed location for this challenge. In a way, I suppose I could say that I am the leader of this team. Perhaps for now I can say that, but soon, all of my 'teammates' will be my competitors, so I must keep a close eye and keep myself in check as well.

I'm compensating so that another _Heather _incident doesn't occur. Though, looking at Izzy, her wild red hair and her equally wild and crazed personality, she's definitely not someone I would _willingly_ choose as a romantic partner.

My calculations were correct, as usual, and soon enough, we've reached the Amazon River. We arrive just as Chris is giving the spiel about how the next part of the challenge is going to work. I see Heather and Team Amazon. Obviously, they arrived here before us, but I can easily compensate for that and we could still win.

As soon as we get to where Chris is standing, almost all of Team Amazon has boarded their dolphins and appear to be taking off.

"Team Amazon's kicking your butt!" Chris laughs. "You better hurry up!"

Chris just loves to state the obvious, does he not? One of his favorite things to do as a host is worry people and raise tension. That's why I like the guy.

It's just my luck that I see Heather struggling to get onto her dolphin. Instantly, my heart's torn. One part of me finds it incredibly amusing while another part of me longs to help her. I shake my head and rush to keep up with the pace of my team. It's a relief when I hit the water of the Amazon River and am face to face with an _Inia Geoffrensis, _the Pink Dolphin, indigenous to the Amazon River.

"I'll be gentle," I promise the lovely creature, stroking her snout.

From there, it's a simple feat to climb onto her back and she takes off, smooth and fast like a rocket. Apparently, Heather was able to climb aboard her dolphin because she's riding in formation with her team.

Something compels me to coax the dolphin I'm riding to speed up a little, to catch up to Heather. She looks over at me, her hair flapping behind her. In just that moment, her pony tail breaks free, and several synthetic fibers fall away.

"MY EXTENSIONS!" she screams, her eyes wide and bewildered.

With the extensions gone, her true hair is very short. It flies around her face like a flock of beautiful ravens. She notices that I'm staring at her and her screaming stops. The expression on her face is unreadable; she just blinks a couple of times and bites her lip.

"You look beautiful the way you are..._preciosa_..." I say, and I actually mean what I'm saying. For the first time in my life, I feel myself...blushing.

It's embarrassing to think that somebody actually saw me blushing, but it doesn't bother me that Heather saw it. I can see the way her eyes soften, the way her lips turn into a smile. And then, if my eyes are not deceiving me, she appears to be blushing, too. Such a simple moment and yet it's like living poetry, more beautiful and expressive than anything.

If I go beyond this moment in time, I'm not very certain what will happen, but I cannot deny my heart any longer. I may want to win this game, but my heart is on fire, engulfed in _los fuegos del amor_. This moment is priceless, perhaps even imprinted on my heart and mind _por siempre_.

:Heather:

_Alejandro...Alejandro...Could he possibly be "the one"? _

Maybe he wasn't pretending. There was a little bit of pretending, but from the way he keeps looking at me, I'm beginning to think that there's something more. And the way he said what he just said.

I must be dreaming. I'll probably wake up back in that clearing in the rain forest. Alejandro actually falling in love with me is just as unlikely as anything can get. And here I am, doing what I thought would never happen in a million years: _I'm falling in love with Alejandro..._

Everything else seems like such a blur and unimportant right now. And I don't know why...

"HEATHER!" Courtney screams.

That calls me right back to brutal reality. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a huge tapestry with Chris' face emblazoned on the front. Ferociously, I steer the dolphin in the direction of the gaudy tapestry. Wind is rushing past me and the water is leaping up in giant waves, drenching me, but it feels good.

I pour on more speed, racing into an adrenaline rush. Right past the finish line and I'm just barely staying atop the dolphin's back.

The rest of my team rushes in around me, cheering and whooping. We won..._We won_...

I don't know why, but those two words keep repeating in my head and I don't understand what they mean. Somehow, my eyes look around and immediately spot Alejandro.

His face is so red and he's drenched in water. I continue looking, watching as he crosses the finish line and it seems like all he's looking at..._is me_.

Chris keeps saying stuff, so does everybody else, but I can't seem to notice anything else. It's all just part of the background.

I think the dolphin threw me off into the water, because when Alejandro shows up, he pulls me onto the back of the dolphin that he's riding.

It feels like our eyes are locked together. I can't look away from his face. At all.

"Congratulations, _preciosa_," he says.

I think I finally figured out what "_preciosa" _means...It means...It means _beautiful_.

I'm blushing so terribly now. And so is he. He cups my chin and starts bringing my face closer. It feels like everything is in slow motion and our faces are so close, only inches apart. Then he places his hand on my face; it's so soft, yet so strong at the same time.

His lips finally touch mine and we kiss, long and sweet. He's a great kisser, practically a professional. That little detail makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

I'm disappointed when he pulls away, but his fingers linger on my cheek. My face is probably so red right now, but things couldn't feel any more right than they do right now...

That's when I realize that everybody, _**everybody **_is staring at the two of us with wide eyes and dropped jaws. My face is crimson now, I swear. There's so much silence for at least a minute and then they're all talking and whispering to each other, looking at me and him with a full range of facial expressions.

"I think it would be a good idea to meet up again...later," Alejandro whispers in my ear. "I have something I want to tell you..."

:Team Victory:

LeShawna knew that Team Victory was last as soon as the three of them reached the bank of the Amazon River. Now, she and Lindsay were riding on the back of one dolphin while DJ was weeping and being dragged through the water attached to the tail of another one.

"We're almost there, okay Lindsay?" LeShawna called over her shoulder.

Poor Lindsay was moaning and itching ferociously at her Poison Oak-infected arms.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the finish line, which was a tapestry with Chris' face on it. He was right when he said they'd notice it as soon as they saw it. Could this dude possibly be any more vain? Chris was pretty much the _epitome_ of egotistical!

"Team Amazon is the winner!" Chris bellowed out on a megaphone just as Team Victory crossed the finish line.

"It's about time you got here, Team _Victory_," Chris sneered through the megaphone. "Get ready to send somebody home..."

The hairs on the back of LeShawna's neck stood on end and she looked from DJ to Lindsay despondently. Team Victory was already barely operating as a three-person team, but a two-person team would just hinder them that much more. Sighing, LeShawna looked at Lindsay.

The least she could do was send this poor gal home so that she could get her Poison Oak breakout treated in peace...

"PSYCH!" Chris yelled, showing a pair of crossed fingers. "Today was a_ reward _challenge!"

That comment just made LaShawna's blood boil. She growled and clenched her fists at her sides, badly wanting to smash Chris' face in since he was so determined to be "suspenseful" and scare the crap out of everybody.

"Oh...my...GOD!" somebody yelled.

Several people echoed that person and LaShawna turned to look. "Holy shit," she said, adding to the number of cuss words being said and shaking her head. "I _did not _see that coming..."

Lindsay had even stopped itching briefly and her jaw had dropped so far that a bird could fly in. DJ was twisted into an awkward position in the water, unable to get up. He twisted his head to the side and looked at LaShawna. "What? What's going on?"

Unable to believe it herself, LaShawna just shook her head.

Alejandro and Heather were swapping spit. The last two people LaShawna could imagine together, _were together_. And what made the scenario that much weirder was that the couple was sitting on the back of a dolphin...and being shown on _live TV_...

When Alejandro pulled away from Heather, LaShawna just kept staring. It was just so shocking and unexpected that it was taking everybody, even the smug and cocky Chris himself, a little bit of time to compute and process what had just happened.

"Did you just see what I just saw?" LaShawna asked, turning to Lindsay.

"Pink dolphins? They are _sooo_ cute!" Lindsay squeaked, her attention turned away from the unbelievable kiss and directed at the dolphin they were riding.

LaShawna smiled and started to pat the dolphin herself. Maybe it was better that she did just forget what had happened.

"Yeah, they _are _cute."


	5. Chapter 5

:Alejandro:

Chris is making us spend one more night in the Amazon rain forest because the challenge was so short...and because he's secretly sadistic.

Personally, I don't mind. I've been avoiding my team as much as I can, being the one that's out foraging for food. I'm spending as much time as I can away from our designated camp site because I don't want to be asked about the kiss I shared with Heather. The last thing I need is Owen telling me that I'm a "play-ah" for the millionth time today.

_Heather..._

That kiss we shared was so _dulche, _so sweet. It's like the nectar of a flower, chocolate. I've kissed girls before, but I suppose that her kiss strikes me as so amazing that I want to sit and write sappy poetry about it, is that I have such raging feelings for her. The feelings are so much more intense now that we've shared a kiss together. Her face is permanently emblazoned on my retinas, making my heart pound and explode like a series of supernovas.

I'm wondering where Team Amazon's camp is, where Heather is. I have something I need to tell her. I _must _talk to her incognito because I already made a mistake in kissing her out in public. I swore to myself that I'd be smarter and more efficient with dealing with my feelings for her, but I suppose I won't be able to think logically again until I fully figure out my feelings for this girl.

That's when I see the orange and yellow glow of a fire. Hope filling me, I fall to all fours and start crawling towards the camp site, stealthily and quietly. The closer I get to the camp site, I start hearing loud and bickering female voices. I'm hiding in a bush, mere feet away.

Out of all of the voices, I can easily recognize Heather's. Pushing some of the leaves of the bush away, I peer in. I see Sierra hugging Cody, the poor sap, Courtney and Gwen bickering heatedly with each other and then...Heather. She's sitting by herself, yelling at the other two girls to stop arguing.

I have to come up with a way to get Heather's attention that will alert her and nobody else. Then I smile as an ingenious, yet subtle plan enters my mind. Expertly and cautiously, I creep towards where Heather is sitting and reach through the bushes, lightly tapping her hand.

Instantly, she turns around and looks at me over the bushes. I flash my most genuine smile at her and motion with my hand. Nodding, she turns around. "I'm gonna go get more firewood," she announces.

Her team is so preoccupied with everything and anything else, that they all just wave and give "whatevers". Wonderful, none of them suspect a thing. Though if I were one of them, I probably would have been more suspicious, but...They all seem so high strung right now that I bet a boa constrictor could land right in the middle of their camp and nobody would notice.

I keep crawling and slowly get back to my feet as soon as I'm as far away from the camp as I can get. Heather shows up and as soon as she sees me, we just stand there staring at each other. I've been thinking and playing out how this might go in my head, but considering who exactly Heather is, just about _anything _could happen, really.

From what little time we've really known each other, I'm coming to accept the fact that Heather can ruin almost any of my plans, even the most carefully crafted ones.

"What did you wanna tell me, exactly?" she asked, crossing her arms and looking skeptic.

"I want to _show _you something, first," I replied, reaching out and taking her hand.

:Heather:

I feel so freaking stupid right now.

I left camp and now I'm letting Alejandro drag me God-knows-where. He seems to know where he's going. But I don't and my heart's jumping around in my chest, threatening to leave my chest at any moment.

We pass lots and lots of plants, and finally he stops. For some reason, we're back at the Amazon River. He squeezes my hand, sending shivers down my spine and points.

"Look," he says. "Isn't that an amazing sight, _preciosa_?"

I look where he's pointing: It's a giant waterfall. It sparkles, like a bunch of jewelry being dumped out of a jewelry box. Overhead, is the moon and the stars. All of it is larger than life, eye-popping large. I guess it's pretty cool.

"I saw this spot earlier...and thought it looked romantic," he continues, looking directly at me.

Normally, when he does stuff like this, it makes me angry. Right now feels different. Right away I'm blushing and I let myself be blown away by this pretty spot. I'm speechless. Being around Alejandro right here, especially after that kiss today, makes me feel...not like myself.

And the feeling just gets worse when he walks over to me and there's barely a foot of distance between us. Without asking, he walks up and wraps his arms around me, looks at me with those hypnotizing, womanizing eyes.

"Heather..." he says, his voice a whisper. "I think..._Pienso que_..._te quiero_..."

Somehow my brain translates what he just said: "I love you"? Before I can even try to think again, he lunges at me and kisses me full on the lips. It's so strong and passionate, his lips are sizzling. And he holds me and kisses me here and now much longer than he was before.

It feels like he's sucking the oxygen out of my lungs. When he finally pulls away, we're both breathing heavily.

I mean it when I say that Alejandro is a good kisser. He knows how to romance a girl. It's got me and even though I never thought I'd be the type to fall for romance, he's effortlessly proving me wrong.

And I absolutely love it.

As soon as I've caught my breath, he pulls me towards him again. And we're kissing again.

We end up falling to the ground and the kissing becomes an intense make-out session. For several minutes, it's just his lips pressed against mine, again and again. Several times we pull back and take a breath. Then he just continues kissing me again. A few times, I'm even the one that launches back into making out. I can't say enough that it was majorly _intense. Insane. _

Is this what it was like for Bridgette and Geoff?

:Alejandro:

I never expected that I would end up making out like this with Heather. I'm not in any way disappointed, though. This is probably one of the most interesting romantic escapades I've ever been on: making out with a girl near a waterfall on the Amazon River, somewhere in the Amazon rain forest.

Heather and I are like the opposite poles of magnets. The attraction between us is so strong that I suppose something like this was just inevitable. I'm exploding like a bunch of firecrackers inside my soul, my lips _bailando _with such grace and passion. So many _fuegos_. It's driving me _loco_.

_Heather! Te quiero...Te quiero mucho..._

It feels like an entire hour has passed by the time we're laying next to each other, breathing hard. Both of us are smiling and wild eyed. Never before have I ever been so tired, yet so exhilerated at the same time. And all we really did was kiss...so many _besos_...I lost count of how many times we kissed each other in the short span of time that has just passed.

Somehow, I sit back up, then climb to my feet and walk over to the bank of the Amazon River. There's a bunch of clouds where the sky used to be clear and now rain is hammering down from the sky in relentless torrents. I run over to where Heather is and quickly pull her under the canopy of a tree. There, I pull her close to me, but there's so much rain our clothes are getting drenched yet again.

Quickly, I rip off my shirt and fasten it to some tree branches overhead. It stops some of the rain. Some rain still gets through, but not as much as there was before.

"Heather, are you alright?" I ask, pulling her into my embrace.

"Yeah..." she says.

"_Bueno_."

For a long time, I just hold her close to me and neither of us says anything. We just listen to the tranquil sound of the pouring rain. Finally, the rain stops and we're sitting there, holding each other close, in the silence of the night.

Heather pulls away from me and turns her back to me, leaving me confused. I want to reach out and pull her back, hold her close to me for the rest of the night, but I know that I shouldn't. I wait for her to turn back around, to look at me again and finally, she does, looking genuinely worried.

"I don't think we...can have this kind of relationship right now, Alejandro," she says, looking at me with such a pained face.

"_Qué_?" I reach out to her, but she shies away from me.

"Think about it," Heather continues. "We'd be jeopardizing our chances of winning the game if we kept seeing each other like this..."

What she was saying sunk in. I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought about this myself, but looking at Heather and feeling the way I erupted like a volcano just because I was looking at her; all of the puzzle pieces came together in my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and when I opened them again, I was surprised to Heather holding my hand and squeezing it.

She was smiling at me and I smiled back.

"I understand what you mean, _preciosa_," I told her. "Maybe outside of this game...if we meet again and you'll have me..." I took a deep breath. Why was this so hard for me to say? "For now, may the best competitor win."

I lifted Heather's hand to my lips and kissed it lightly. "_Buenas noches_," I said, smiling a little. "_Mi amor and enemigo_."

:Heather:

We were sitting in the rickety death trap of a plane and flying somewhere new.

Me kissing Alejandro yesterday was still a hot topic of conversation, but everyone was beginning to suspect or conclude that _I _was trying to manipulate Alejandro. Well, I guess that was better than everybody knowing the truth.

Nobody knew about what happened between the two of us last night.

I gripped the arm rests next to me. Thinking about it made tingles run through me. It's like...there's an electric current between us. I know I've got feelings for him and that he has feelings for me, but we can't be anything more than competitors until the end of Total Drama World Tour.

Personally, I'm looking forward to further competition with Alejandro.

I notice that Alejandro's sitting a few seats down from me in the other row. He sees me looking at him, then shoots me a smirk and winks.

I smirk back and then he turns around.

_Game on...Alejandro. _

-END-


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